Prairie Storm Paintball has held its D-Day re-enactment battle for 10 years, but this is the first year all proceeds from the event are going to Joe’s Place Youth Centre.
The paintball business’ D-Day event is a re-creation of the Juno Beach battle in which Canadians fought on June 6, 1944 in Normandy, France during the Second World War. The paintball course is set up to look similar to the invasion beach, with wood replicas of Higgins boats for the invaders and wood defensive structures for the defenders.
Joe Dueck, founder and director of Joe’s Place, explained that Prairie Storm owner Levi Dombowsky heard about the struggles of the youth centre last year, so he offered the D-Day event as a fundraiser for the organization. He also knew that Dueck had served as a reservist with the Saskatchewan Dragoons and did a tour in Bosnia, which factored into his overall decision.
“It’s incredible,” exclaimed Dueck. “I was taken aback because I know there is a lot of work and expenses into this.
“We have been really struggling financially (for) the last couple of years. It was definitely a very big boost to the confidence in the community and humanity, in general, to hear that he would be willing to give us the game for that purpose … .
“This is huge for us. We’re very thankful.”
Prairie Storm Paintball normally holds its D-Day re-enactment in June, but this year it is on Saturday, Sept. 21. This event comes at the right time financially for the youth centre, Dueck said, since it just cleared out its emergency fund and paid its last few bills. If the paintball event is a success — up to 300 people might participate — Joe’s Place could receive $20,000.
A couple of factors have contributed to the financial difficulties at Joe’s Place, including a poor local economy and the loss of grants after the federal government eliminated them, Dueck added.
Some of the youths should be familiar with large-scale scenario activities since Dueck has led such games during the yearly camping trips to Cypress Hills.
The youths at Joe’s Place are going all out to support the event. They are sewing flags that will be used to indicate who has what territory; painting directional signs with names of actual French towns near Juno Beach; and building plastic landmines.
The Dragoons are contributing troops — both current and some from Dueck’s time — and resources to make the experience more immersive. The soldiers will lead some of the groups of youths, while others will act as referees. The military personnel will also talk about veterans and appreciation for them.
It’s important to work in some history since D-Day and the Second World War are so distant to younger generations, Dueck remarked. Having the military reservists out there will be a good reminder of what it took to secure Canada’s hard-won freedoms.
The youths normally wouldn’t participate in this event due to costs, but a firefighters’ charity fund is sponsoring them so they can play. During the match, some tasks the youths will have to complete include clearing landmines, saving a bridge, taking a hill, capturing towns, taking a barnyard, securing a fuel depot and then blowing it up.
Some of the teams that are participating in the D-Day paintball games have agreed to sacrificially play the enemy German force, Dueck added with a laugh.
There are other surprises that the youths can expect when they play, but Dueck was unwilling to reveal what they were. He did say an area pyrotechnics company would be on hand to contribute to those explosive moments.
